Iranian officials react firmly to Samsung move

TEHRAN – The Iranian foreign minister issued an ultimatum on Thursday to Samsung Co. urging it to apologize for excluding the Iranian Olympians from receiving phones as a gift in the South Korea Winter Olympics, a source said.

If Samsung Electronics does not withdraw from its decision until Thursday afternoon, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif will not use Samsung any more as he has it now as his cell phone, the source told Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).

The senior judicial official further emphasized that in case the Samsung Electronics Co. pledges to compensate for “the spiritual damage” it has caused to Iran, a date should be determined and announced to the head office of the company.

Also, an informed source told the IRIB that ICT Minister Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi had also demanded the South Korean company to apologize, saying the minister was considering revocation of registration service for Samsung devices on the Iranian network.

In the meantime, the Foreign Ministry summoned South Korea’s ambassador to Tehran Kim Seung-Ho, asking explanation about the issue.

In a press release to the Tehran Times, the ambassador said, “The Embassy of the Republic of Korea confirms that the unwise decision yesterday (Feb. 7) did come from neither the Korean government nor the Korean company in question.”

He also said, “Due to the close cooperation between the Republic of Korea and Iran, such a regrettable decision was quickly rectified.”